Anne Gray and Andrew Midgley joined Brexit Minister, Mike Russell, and a host of other rural representatives on Wednesday for an SRUC lead debate on the future of rural policy post-Brexit.

It was clear from the turnout and the detailed level of the questions posed, that the vital question of what rural policy and support will look like and what the justification for it will be post-2020 is occupying many minds at the moment. SRUC and well-respected consultant, Andrew Moxey, provided some context setting for the discussions, with the Minister responding to what heard at a later stage. Not only was the extent and speed of change debated, but whether this should be on the basis of a fundamental rethink of the architecture of the system (going back to first principles) or a more pragmatic transition, minimising restructuring to some extent. The capacity and mind set of Government in relation to potential changes was also examined.